Andorra

Rating:
Summary: This unusual novel will not disappoint.
Review: I certainly have not read a more well-crafted and involving novel this year. Cameron's prose, particularly his attention to and ear for dialogue, is unmatched. In this novel, he has harnessed an intriguing plot to his cool prose and come up with a real winner: a book both intellectually stimulating and emotionally engaging

Rating:
Summary: I once read a book about Andorra....there's no there there.
Review: I just completed Peter Cameron's wiilow-o'the- wispy novel Andorra and am reminded of Gerturde Stein's description of her hometown. She could only say, "There's no there there." Mr. Cameron's tale of "deceipt, desire and illusivenesss of memory" reads more like a literary sleight of hand...all those words and nothing happened. His traveler's sad tale serves no reason to exist except as a pretext to get him out of one town and into another. The clingy annoying locals seem hopelessly stuck in place and when the whole thing is over I realized I've eaten a plate of chiffon without sugar.

Rating:
Summary: compelling
Review: I love this book. It is not, by any means, literary perfection, but it has stuck with me for the last 3.5 years since I read it. I suppose it appeals to the computer scientist and simulator in me, since it concerns recursion and worldbuilding... but there is something more affective about it than that. Something about the way the protagonist's world unravels around him and around you, something about how he keeps trying to rewrite his past, and fails. The way picturesque Andorra becomes menacing. The book is minimalist, elegant, yet sucks you in. Andorra. I once read a book about a place called Andorra...

Rating:
Summary: But..
Review: I picked up this book in part because of my interest in Andorra. The flap piqued my interest. The plot was mildly ammusing, though ocassional tedious. My biggest problem remained the use of the name of an actual country, without use of the actually country side. (i.e. Andorra, the country, is land-locked and "Andorra," the book, takes place by the sea.

The plot became very reminiscent of "Camera Obsura" without the interesting facts and tidbits of data. And tords the end it seemed the author was trying to wrap up story lines without clear-cut reasoning.

While every book is a learning experience, this was a bit of a let down.

Rating:
Summary: A first-rate page-turner
Review: I read this book in a day. It is perfect airplane reading. It's suspenseful and stylishly written. The book is written in first person and the narrator is somewhat unreliable, but he has intelligent thoughts. The plot and the setting are unique, but if there is some deep, overall message to the book that would warrant academic-type study I didn't get it. There might be more to it than what I perceived, but I highly recommend it for strictly shallow reasons. It's fun reading.

Rating:
Summary: A misunderstood book
Review: I think the unfavorable reviews here have missed the point entirely. But to explain why I'd have to give away the ending and I don't want to do that. All I can say is, Pay attention to the last chapter! Then think about how the narrator's circumstances affect the story and its telling.

Rating:
Summary: A delightful fairy tale appealing to dreamers/escapists,etc.
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am now reading The Weekend which is quite different. Andorra is wonderful reading, a fairy tale that will appeal to the dreamer and escapist in us all. I love to tell people about the books I read and this book's ending does not allow that at all..so I suggest you pick it up, you won't be able to put it down and you will, I beleive become enchanted and captivated by its characters, setting and mood.Does anyone have a copy of Leap Year which is evidently out of print

Rating:
Summary: Charming and fluffy. I wanted more substance at the end.
Review: I wanted more from the secondary characters in Andorra. And I wanted more character from the main character. It was a good read, but hardly a masterful novel. It's been a year since I read the book, the details have faded. However I remember enjoying the picture he painted of a country most people in the world don't know about. I know it was a novel though, so I didn't expect fact. By the end I was drawn into his mystery, cheering for his character and hoping that everything would turn out right in the end. I still contend that the secondary characters needed to be more robust, and the mystery needed to be less subtle.

Rating:
Summary: sublime
Review: I'm a great fan of Michael Ondaatje's novels, and for some reason was hoping for the same wonderful sense of mystery and feeling of intellectual involvement I get from them. This was a mistake, as most of the time while reading Andorra I felt let down by simple dialogue and hollow characters. However, the author's descriptions of the make-believe country are compelling, and I still think about them, two years after reading the book. If you want to read the book, don't expect much and you might be rewarded by a trip to fantasy land!

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing yet memorable
Review: I'm a great fan of Michael Ondaatje's novels, and for some reason was hoping for the same wonderful sense of mystery and feeling of intellectual involvement I get from them. This was a mistake, as most of the time while reading Andorra I felt let down by simple dialogue and hollow characters. However, the author's descriptions of the make-believe country are compelling, and I still think about them, two years after reading the book. If you want to read the book, don't expect much and you might be rewarded by a trip to fantasy land!